jerry

these can be rekeyed as necessary.  you'll need an old-school locksmith to do it.  i've used Longs Locks in berkely calif.  if your doors match the ignition, this is the way to go.  if doors do not match ignition, you might find a keyed pair for about the same price.

i thought the following pictures may help some folks dealing with rust at the window corners.  this repair deals with the interior portion of the window opening.  my rear parcel shelf was a mess with butchered speaker holes and rusty holes here and there. 

i typically start with a cardboard pattern fit to the area i want to replace.  from a flat piece of cardboard, i have to visualize where or how to curve my flat piece of sheetmetal as shown.

i do some preliminary shaping with a body hammer (actually, my preferred hammer is actually a welding hammer used to pick off weldslag, that i ground to provide flat faces).  i use a sharpie marker to help me locate approximately where the curvature needs to be.  thin dashes for slight curve, thicker dashes for more curves and solid lines for cuts.

whenever possible, i take my replacement piece and actually form it in place over the existing area.  this is the optimum method, but be careful not to deform the base metal too.  patience is key.  do not try to deform metal in 1 or 2 blows.  light persistant taps will move sheetmetal.  in extreme cases i have used a torch to soften it if i need extreme curves.  for this example shown, however, no heat was used.

sometimes it is necessary to cut reliefs inorder to make the curvature as shown.  then grind the excess to clean up the reliefs.  these will be welded

only when i'm happy with the replacement patch will i cut the actual rusty spot out using the patch as a pattern.  then i can trim to size as necessary and weld in place

the last photo shows my parcel shelf with all the holes and rust removed.  it is firm and a vast improvement over what it was.

i'm posting this in response to a query from a previous post i did. 

i've been slowly working my way around this car, literally from bottom to top, front to back and side to side.

the DS c-pillar had rusted at the rear corner of the gasket channel and patching it would have been problematic.  additionally, the outer skin showed signs of earlier hacked bodywork.  Since i happened to have a decent c-pillar around i decided to replace the entire section.   the c-pillar was part of a sunroof i had cut from a car years earlier so i was stuck with working with the section i had.  if i had purpose-cut the c-pillar i would have probably removed it where it joined onto the wheel arch area.  as it turned out, i grafted it at the bottom and i am confident that it is structurally sound.

as 'luck' would have it, my rear parcel shelf had considerable rusty spots and holes so it made it convenient for me to cut an access panel to make my c-pillar extraction cut low, to match my replacement piece. 

i drilled out (and/or used a small die grinder) all the spotwelds between the sheetmetal skin and structural piece.  you will find that the structural piece is spotwelded to the roof in a couple places.  look carefully.  these are best dealt with, with a grinder so as to avoid drilling through the roofskin. 

before i cut anything out, i supported the roof with metal straps welded to the windshield opening and clamped an additional strap in the quarterwindow opening as shown.  don't take chances with movement.

with the inner structural support removed, it is possible to make a clean cut on the outer skin to remove it.  in my case, i only needed to make one discreet cut at the forward edge and i carefully ground down the spotwelds to the roof support at top.  this allowed a clean factory type replacement.  (this work is done from the inside of the cabin). 

there are two sets of spotwelds on the top area: one is the sheetmetal to the support and the other is the support to the roof structural member.  in order to weld the sheetmetal skin to the support at the top, it was clear that i  needed to make these welds from the inside so (as i recall) i drilled through the structural piece, only those spotwelds associated with the skin attachment point. 

(it's not really as complicated as it must sound in print, just visualize that reassembly will have to occur in the reverse order).

make a rough cut at the bottom, leaving enough to trim to size for the section you have on hand.  the replacement structural piece is then fitted as shown.

i welded the structural piece to the car using the original spotweld locations at the roof.  i carefully cut the top-forward edge to match with the original one, and welded up the seam.  the bottom was butt-welded after careful pruning to size and welded to a structural support.  Once in place, i was able to fit the skin to the c-pillar. 

Note, i made several test fitments before welding ANYTHING to make sure it would fit together without distortion.

it is critical to line up the corners as best as possible.  i chose to make my weld seam slightly below the original factory seam because i utilized that corner to make my alignment.

the last two photos show the bottom edge welded in place and a replacement patch to repair a rusty spot on the parcel shelf.

i will note, that i proceeded with this repair because i had built up my confidence over months of practice on this car and the knowledge i gained from cutting up a couple scrap cars for sheetmetal.  i can be done and i am delighted with the results.  i tried to capture my method in the hopes that i may save a car or two.

mike,  what did you use for your heat source?   i've been using a handheld MAPP gas torch but it's too hot and the flame is too big i think.  my first attempt was more sucessful than my 2nd attempt yesterday.  i think it's a heating issue because i actually got a better result when the bottle was running out and the flame got cooler.  i'm gonna try propane next.  i've seen oxy-acetelene welders used on the videos, but i don't have my bottles up and running at present. 

i thought i was being clever when i remelted my practice solder into an ingot, but its melting characteristic changed.  Depending on the activation energy difference between the lead and tin, i'd expect one would oxidize more readily and  would come out in the dross that was skimmed off upon cooling.  The effect was a decrease in the mushy zone.  it tended to flake off rather than stick as the original stuff did.

Would you share some pics of you c-pillar repair.

will do, but all my photos are on a memory stick at work right now.  actually, i plan to document this project when i get done with all the rust repairs.  it's been a 2+ year effort on and off so far and i wanted to avoid the big gaps in updating a project blog.  done two so far, so i know how it is.  but i do have a couple snippets i can post that i think can help others..  stay tuned.

i've taken a couple days off work to devote to my 'project'.  i finally took the plunge and decided to tackle the job of soldering the weld seam at the top of the C-pillar just like the factory.  i have to say that there is a wealth of info on youtube and written text on various sites. 

autobody solder is pricey if purchased from sources like Eastwood or from regular vendors on eBay.  i kept an eye out for the occasional listing on eBay from someone selling 'grampa's stuff from the basement' and purchased about 15 lbs of the toxic stuff for a better price.  i did buy some tinning paste, a couple maple paddles and tallow from Eastwood. 

Prior to today, i had visions of leading all my visable weld seams.  Not gonna happen.  not because i can't do it, but rather, i don't want to expose myself to anymore fumes than i need to. 

anyhow, i spent about 40 minutes on a scrap piece of sheetmetal getting the hang of it.  it really is a matter of managing the heat source and semi-molten metal.  it took several attempts to actually get the tinning butter to coat the metal.  cleanliness is key.  i sanded, then wiped with Xylene/Xylol?  (cuz i had it available). 

once i got a blob of solder on the metal it was a joy to actually use the paddle to smooth it around just like frosting a cake. 

my next location is soldering the seam between the rear quarter panel and tailpanel.  i did a rust patch there and am a little concerned about getting the seam clean.  wish me luck. 

as an aside, i am having a lot of fun and satisfaction working the dents out with hammers, dollies and spoons.  it is amazing how little force is necessary to move the metal.  again, i learned most of this on youtube. 

are these reflectors strickly an american market thing?  i'm reconsidering not removing them from the rear.  the side reflectors have already been shaved...  appearance over safety i suppose....

thanks for a very definitive answer.  i guess my 73 with the missing reflectors has a story to tell when i get to that point....

i knew my early 71 had a replacement tail panel.  i'm gonna probably shave them on this 72, i like the cleaner look, and they can always be reinstalled, should this car survive me.

did the obligatory search... okay, maybe i could have worked alittle harder, but... the kitties be damn (oh forgive me, Ramone, RIP)

anyhow, i'm working on the tailpanel of a 72 and when i compared it to an early 6-fuse 71 and a 73 tailpanel, i did not see holes in the tailpanel on either of those two models.  i was really surprised not to see them on the 73. 

is this a design change or am i dealing with a 'shaved' panel on the 73?  if i remember correctly my late model 71 had em as well.  my thinking is that the tailpanel reflectors were added when the 12-fuse cars came out and then BMW realized that they were superfluous and removed them on the 73's.  true?

location???

i can't help but fear that you may have substituted a compliant 'push rod', for a rigid rod which will transmit the load directly to the spot-welded boss on your sheet-metal. 

i'm gonna make a guess that you have or had a 5 speed in there, judging from the appearance of your tranny tunnel.  looks like they bolted the mounts (as i've done too) just aft of the original location which apparently received two riveted patches.

. I think I will try for it again. Although it has 200,000 plus miles on it.

at this point, assume every 02 you come across has at least 200,000+ miles on it.  i'm actually surprised at how durable some of the replaceable parts actually are.  There are very few used wheel bearings that i've actually tossed out.  i've reinstalled steering linkage if the ball joints are firm.  however, after 200K miles, expect a need to replace rubber seals almost everywhere.  that can be expensive.  but if you are in the desert, water ingress is not much of an issue i suppose.  and one other thing...  not all 200,000 mile cars received equal treatment. 

Brand loyalty vanished after driving it!

can you clarify...

who's loyalty and which brand, and why???

if you are not going to do the work yourself, or, you don't want to spend the considerable amount of money to fix it correctly, step away. 

it can be fixed, but it takes time, lot's of it, to do a nice job.  you could probably speed up the process by merely cutting out what you can and welding patch panels over the holes you've made.  not the way i do things, but better than trying to glue metal with silicone sealer.

if you are close to marin, i can show you personally, what is involved with your rust issues...

there was another guy who posted up a week ago and i gave a different answer because he was willing to take on the work and learn.  it's a matter of time, patience, motivation and priorities.

good luck

you have the right attitude for this job.  if you are patient, handy with tools and not afraid to make mistakes, go for it.  i have been quietly rebuilding an 02 that any reasonable person would have scrapped.  from your photos, it was worse than yours.  i bought this car and sat on it for 3 years before i finally got the courage to work on it.  in the meantime, i spent a summer cutting and drilling sections from 2 scrap cars which really taught me a great deal and eased my fears.  get yourself a firm spatula and comfortable hammer.  i really liked a stubby 2lb small sledgehammer i have.  i found that spotweld cutters were virtually useless.  the tips break and you are limited by accessibility.  many times you can't get a drill square to the surface.  i bought a dozen each Cobalt drill bits, 3/16 and 3/8 in.  use the smaller bit for a pilot hole and follow up with the larger bit.  in time, you'll learn when to stop on the 3/8 bit so you don't penetrate through the 2nd layer.  spotwelds typically make a small depression.  i use a felt marker to highlight them.  you'll invariably miss a couple, but no biggie.  use the spatula to pry the seam apart. 

the framerail is spotwelded to the bottom of the inner fender.  wire wheel the rubber texture off and you'll see the depressions.  on the floor it is a combination of spotwelds and a couple weld beads visible from the underside.  i had to replace mine, but unless yours is completely disintegrated (as mine was), you can do a pretty good patch job.  take the time to do butt-welds, avoid lap-welds on patches unless you are replacing a factory lapweld. 

i was fortunate to salvage a bunch of shelving from my workplace which was a perfect match for patches.  practice, does make perfect.  good luck.  post photos when you come across specific problems.  where are you located?

the 3 piece dashes with chrome trim are specific to the trim.  on the two chrome dashes that i have, the bottom piece was actually made by cutting the lower section off, essentially creating an almost flat cover piece.  the chrome trim was a combination of some chrome plated plastic pieces around both heater levers and a chrome ashtray in-line with the trim and a chrome piece across the glove box which was also specific to this dash, as far as i can tell.  these dashes were on very early US market cars only and on Euro market cars until much later.  All ti's had them. 

you can be as vague or as specific as you want in listing your location. In the end,the map will only show your city, not your full address.

 

steve k.

true, dat...

the marker put me in the approximate location of the local sanitation facility.  probably mistook the appearance of my backyard...

A co-worker showed me this listing today.  We've seen 02 pickup conversions on the FAQ before.  This is a neat little variant.  Has this been posted before???

for all the work done and the appearance, i think the asking price is realistic....

http://www.carsauto.com/1971-bmw-1600-c-854-mobile.htm

sounds like you are considering swapping out a stainless steel muffler for a plain mild steel muffler.  i'm currently using an Ansa muffler i pulled off a junk car.  i have no complaints.  but i'd more than likely try to retain a stainless steel unit in preference.  you've already made the payment for the IE unit.  unless you are a parts hoarder, like me, i'd leave well enough alone.  i believe Ansa is made in Italy and was/is not OEM.  but it appears to be reasonalby made.

proof that there is a fetish for everyone....

judging from your photo, that accident COMPLETELY transformed the appearance of your 02.  i'd be bummed too if my 02 looked like that!

Does that fix take up some of the slop in the bracket holes? I have factory pins in mine but they pop loudly when I open door due to the slop. I'm sure the real fix is to get new brackets welded in but if this works......

actually, i believe the slop is the result of a missing plastic sleeve in the door brake arm.  if it's missing the door brake will tend to slam against the pin as the spring mechanism is engaged/disengaged.  if your door brake arm still has the plastic sleeve then disregard what i said and you may have ovalized bracket holes as mentioned.

a little off-topic, but i'm dealing with dieseling on my 38/38 carb with 292cam and 9.5 bathtub pistons.  my idles are down to 140's.  it idles well when it warms up and is responsive, but i have gotten into the practice of switching off the ignition as i let out the clutch in 1st gear.  otherwise it'd diesel for a fair bit.  i do not have backfire issues.  is a backfire an opposite end of the problem spectrum from dieseling?

unless you see a kink in the center section of the bumper, i'd bet that the side piece pivoted where it connects at the overrider location.  straighten the bracket that's connected to the framerail and tweek the side piece as needed and i think you'll be okay. 

however, parallel parking a roundie on the street is BEGGING for a nosejob.  consider this incident a warning.  it doesn't take much to damage the center grill and surrounding sheetmetal.  and the perpetrator may not even be aware at the time.